How to Budget Month-by-Month Before Long-Term Travel
A real-life, month-by-month family travel savings plan, with the tools, numbers, and mindset shifts we used to prepare for a one-year adventure with two kids and zero chill.
Why We Needed a Month-by-Month Plan
We started saving for this trip with a spreadsheet, a loose plan, and a whole lot of doubt. Long-term travel with kids felt out of reach, especially when we factored in school, work, debt, and two snack-hungry kids under 8.
Plus you read all these travel blogs where they saved £40k plus…then it gets daunting
But breaking it down month-by-month gave us momentum. It made the dream feel less overwhelming, more real and more doable.
Here’s exactly how we built our family travel savings plan, what worked (and what didn’t), and how you can create your own roadmap to take the leap.
This blog is fuelled by caffeine and chaos, if it helps, support our journey
What Is a Travel Savings Plan?
A travel savings plan is a month-by-month breakdown of what you need to save to fund your trip and how to get there in real life. It’s more than a number. It’s a timeline, a priority shift, and a mindset.
For us, this meant:
Choosing a departure date (August 2025)
Working backward to define our total goal
Mapping monthly milestones we could actually stick to
Your number will look different than ours but the method can flex to any budget, timeline, or family size.
How Do You Budget Month-by-Month for Travel?
We broke it into 4 core phases:
1. Dream + Research
2. Audit Our Real Expenses
We printed 3 months of bank statements and categorised everything.
Painful? Yes. But necessary.
We cut subscriptions, paused fun spending, and built in “kid joy money” so the cuts didn’t feel like punishment.
We swapped takeaways with naughty cheaper meals, so if we wanted a curry,w e would make one but then buy naan breads and maybe a samosa, this way it cost a fraction of the price and we could save the difference.
3. Set a Monthly Savings Target
With our trip goal set, we divided it by the number of months left.
Example:
£10,000 savings goal ÷ 9 months = ~$1,111/month
Some months we hit it. Some, we didn’t. But we always knew where we stood.
4. Track Momentum, Not Just Numbers
Every month we asked: “Did we move closer?”
That could be $50 saved, a booked house sit, or a sold car.
The key: make progress visible and celebrate it.
The thing tom account for unless you have a deep pot is your saving will also be going to things you need to book before your travels, so flights, accomadation, vaccines etc
Budgeting by Timeline: What to Focus on Based on When You're Leaving
Whether you’ve got a full year or just a few months, here’s how to shift your strategy:
12+ Months Out:
Focus on gradual habit changes
Set up auto-transfers to a travel savings account
Sell larger items (baby gear, car, furniture)
6–11 Months Out:
Trim recurring costs (subscriptions, groceries, impulse buys)
Set monthly savings goals and track visually
Test income streams (freelancing, marketplaces, affiliate content)
0–5 Months Out:
Cut fast and deep (restaurants, events, etc.)
Sell fast-moving items (tech, clothes)
Book early flights and accommodation while rates are lower. Though Airbnb can have some bargains due to late cancellations.
Tools That Helped Us Budget (and Actually Stick to It)
These tools kept us (mostly) sane:
Google Sheets Tracker — Custom columns for savings, income, and “unexpected wins”
Wise — We used separate “vaults” for travel, emergency, and gear
Shared Notes App — To track one-off savings like Facebook Marketplace sales
Want the exact sheet we use? Grab our Family Travel Budget Template here.
Real Numbers From Our Family's Budget Plan
For transparency, here’s a rough snapshot of our pre-trip numbers:
Monthly on-the-road budget (goal): ~£2000
Pre-trip savings target: £10,000
Covers, gear, insurance, and a 4-month emergency buffer (Flights paid for already)
Monthly savings goal (over 9 months): ~£1111
Some months we saved more. Others less. But tracking every month kept us focused and honest.
What We Noticed Early (And How We Adjusted)
Even before we’ve left, some parts of our original plan didn’t hold up. Here’s what we’ve changed along the way:
- Pretending we didn’t need a buffer
We originally aimed for a clean savings target, then two dental bills hit and we realised: life doesn’t pause while you prep. We’ve since added a 10% cushion for the “oh no” moments. (And seriously, you don’t want tooth trouble abroad.) - Relying only on saving
By month 3 of planning, it became clear that trimming expenses wasn’t enough. So we started testing income boosters — small freelance gigs, affiliate posts, and early content seeding for passive income. This blog will be monetised before we travel and part time freelance work will be a staple…We’re not just going on a holiday. - Not building joy into the budget
We were too rigid at first. Adding a $50/month “fun fund” (even just for cheap pizza or a family hike) made the process feel sustainable, not like punishment for dreaming big.
Monthly Budget Progress (So Far)
Here’s a sample of how we’ve tracked our monthly progress — not just how much we saved, but what moved the needle each month.
| Month | Goal | What Helped |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | $1,200 | Cancelled Netflix, sold cot |
| Feb | $900 | Tax refund + marketplace hustle |
| Mar | $1,500 | Took on one freelance gig |
We track these every month, not to be perfect, but to see if we’re moving forward. And honestly, even a $50 win counts as momentum.
Want Our Travel Budget Template?
You can download our customizable Google Sheet with real formulas, monthly goals, and budget categories we used no fluff, just what helped us get traction.
Final Thoughts: Progress > Perfection
Budgeting for long-term travel isn’t a perfect spreadsheet. It’s real life with toddlers, missed bills, and unexpected side hustles.
But if you can map your goal, track your wins, and stay flexible — you can absolutely make it happen.
We’re doing this. And if you’re reading this, you might be closer than you think.
FAQ
How much should I budget per month for family travel?
It depends on where and how you travel. For slow travel in South America, we budgeted around £2,000/month for a family of four, including accommodation, food, transport, and activities. Your number might be lower with house sits or higher if flying often.
Can I travel long-term if I’m in debt?
Yes, but be strategic. We’re entering this trip with some car-related debt and are balancing that with an income plan, an emergency fund, and a tight spending cap during our first 3 months.
